


clouds are shrouding us in moments unforgettable, you twist to fit the mold that i am in

by acheronianbusker



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Crimson Flower, F/F, F/M, Multi, Post-Black Eagles Route (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:06:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25249621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acheronianbusker/pseuds/acheronianbusker
Summary: a nice retirement breakfast.this can be read as platonic or romantic toward any characters of ferdibert or hubernie or ferdetta, or as a polyamorous ship as huferdetta. or just as pure, good-hearted friendship. please do give it a read if you are a fan of any of the characters or pairings mentioned!Written for Chloe!
Relationships: Bernadetta von Varley & Hubert von Vestra, Bernadetta von Varley/Hubert von Vestra, Ferdinand von Aegir & Bernadetta von Varley, Ferdinand von Aegir & Hubert von Vestra, Ferdinand von Aegir/Bernadetta von Varley, Ferdinand von Aegir/Bernadetta von Varley/Hubert von Vestra, Ferdinand von Aegir/Hubert von Vestra
Comments: 6
Kudos: 35





	clouds are shrouding us in moments unforgettable, you twist to fit the mold that i am in

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sketchtop](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sketchtop/gifts).



It's a routine almost as old as they are, now, to wake up before dawn and enjoy the morning together at the outside dining table.

Bernadetta sits at the little two-seater table in the kitchen, waiting for Hubert to return from the greenhouse. Ferdie stands at the counter, shaping her boules.

Bernadetta embroiders her latest flower pattern, a Brigidan chrysanthemum to present to Petra when she makes her bi-annual visit. Her fingers are stiff and arthritic at times, so Ferdie massages healing magic into them in the mornings.

Ferdie bakes a fresh loaf of bread near-daily. She lets it rise overnight and bakes it in the morning to have with breakfast. Sometimes, they have fresh toast with omelettes. Other times, she wakes very early to make fresh biscuits or flaky pastries.

Those are Bernadetta's favorites. 

Today, she's in for a bit of a treat. Ferdie seems to have made pastries alongside the usual fresh loaf. They proof on the counter as the oven preheats outside. 

Bernadetta and Hubert have their own little routine. He drops medicinal eyedrops into her eyes every morning. She trusts him to do it implicitly, doesn't flinch. 

Hubert runs his hands through her hair and massages her scalp. Ferdie has long since lost much of the natural hair on her scalp, so they both enjoy combing her hair very much. Bernadetta has long since grown used to being touched so casually and intimately, a far cry from her touch-starved youth, but it is still pleasant and very relaxing. Hubert is exceedingly gentle. 

When they dine with Edelgard in the mornings, he will often do her hair instead; Bernadetta thinks it is their way of reminiscing about old times. Nearly fifty years since the Officer's Academy and seventy since their friendship began and they still have trouble verbally expressing their affection for each other. But Bernie sees it in the way he fusses with Edelgard's hair and clothes and worries at her health and in the way Edelgard chides him to take better care of his acid reflux.

Bernie smiles as she feels the comb tickle her scalp, working through every errant knot and tangle. Hubert smooths her greyish-purple hair back into a small braid, then kisses the top of her head.

Then, Hubert goes about preparing the tea. He stopped taking coffee at the recommendation of a physician a few years back, and began to take tea with the two of them instead. Age had a way of tempering the harshest of likes and dislikes. 

Sometimes, when Ferdie makes pastries filled with bitter, dark chocolate, Hubert does let himself indulge. Bernadetta relishes the smell of the coffee at those times. 

Luckily for her, this is one of those mornings. She watches Hubert over her knitting. 

Hubert sets the water to boil in a kettle on the stove. 

He selects a mango black tea blend Claude has sent them from Almyra, and a Dagdan coffee blend Edelgard had imported last month. He grinds the coffee beans slowly and precisely, and sets the grounds in a cloth filter for a pourover. 

Then, using a small teaspoon, he distributes the mango black tea leaves across the bottom of a cafetière. Ferdie had been very strict about using a proper teapot at first, but when she noticed that Bernie liked to watch the color bloom across the leaves, she asked Hubert to switch to a clear press pot instead. Now, all three of them would stand in the small kitchen as the drinks were made and observe together. 

Bernadetta hears the kettle whistle to a boil. Hubert turns the heat off, then waits for the water to cool some, so as to not burn either the grounds or the leaves. He takes a moment to fix the set of Ferdie's dapper cap and Ferdie pushes a bite of the bits-and-ends pastry into Hubert's mouth.

They all share a quiet giggle at that.

Bernie watches the dark swirl of the coffee rise in the glass carafe as Hubert blooms the coffee, then sees the amber color unfurl as he pours the hot water across the tea leaves, then back to the coffee, then back to the tea. 

The color of the mango tea is fascinating, and Bernadetta makes a mental note to recreate it with her acrylic paints during breakfast - after they have finished eating, she amends. It wouldn't do to not be present in the conversation.

Ferdie steps out into the cool morning air. Bernadetta shivers as the door opens, and wraps a shawl around herself as she follows, leaving her knitting for later in the day.

The dark blue of the morning is beatiful and the air in her nose is crisp. Ferdie pulls out the pastries, and they wait another few minutes for the bread loaves to be done. Bernadetta settles down in a chair and watches the birds pick at the food in the bird feeder. An errant squirrel struggles valiantly to get in, but is ultimately chased away. He sullenly bounds back across the lawn.

Hubert follows with their drinks. They'll all have a little bit of coffee and tea each, and Bernie reminds herself to save a small amount of the tea as a color reference for today's painting. She'll have to show it to Linhardt the next time she gets a chance. Another still life, or a landscape using the color as a sunrise or a sunset, she can't decide. 

Ferdie serves the pastries and toast with butter and jam, and Hubert serves each drink in matching red and white teacups. Bernadetta adds a good amount of cream to her coffee, and pushes it into Ferdie's cup as well, knowing she is too obstinate to ask for it but that she will much prefer it that way. They're a bit too old to be embarrassed about such things, but both of them are still stubborn as mules. 

All three of them burn their fingers and mouths on the pastries, alternating sips of coffee and bites of flaky chocolate, and sit contentedly at the table afterward, bellies full, just to have an excuse to talk about something.

Bernie sighs and relaxes into her chair. The air is cold but her heart is warm.


End file.
